“He was. He said he didn’t need me to be like his brother anymore or something.”
She shot me a look. “I’m just speculating, but could he be telling you he doesn’t want you to think of him as a brother because he wants you to do non-brotherly things with him?”
“Oh,” I whispered, eyes widening. “Oh fuck.”
“Listen, why don’t you talk to him? You two don’t normally tiptoe around each other’s feelings. Just get it all out in the open. I need to go. I’m late for my Zoom call.”
I stood frozen as she turned and walked toward her apartment, keys jingling in her hand. My mind was reeling, replaying every interaction I’d had with Rhett since that kiss. The way he’d avoid eye contact when we were alone. How he’d flinch slightly when I got too close. The kittens—god, had he really adopted those cats because he was trying to distract himself?
I’d been so certain I was doing the right thing. So convinced that brushing off the kiss as meaningless was protecting our friendship. But what if I’d been protecting myself instead? After growing up in a family like mine, finding people who really saw you was like a miracle, and I didn’t want to fuck that up.
But I didn’t want to hurt him, either.
I rushed to the apartment, where I found Rhett sprawled across our couch, both kittens climbing over his chest like tiny mountain explorers. He was laughing, his light brown hair falling across his forehead as Cheeto batted at his chin with miniature paws.
He looked up as I entered, that crooked smile of his warming something deep in my chest. “Hey, you brought food! I’m starv—”
The words died on his lips as I set the bag down on our coffee table with deliberate care and took off my shirt.
“You hot?” he asked, tilting his head. “Please don’t tell me you’re torturing me with your cum gutters.”
I froze. “What? I was going to kiss you.”
Rhett blinked, eyes dropping to my chest. “So you need to be shirtless because?”
Why had I done that? “Um…”
He set the kittens aside and ripped off his own shirt. “Works for me. Hi.”
I moved toward him, placing one knee on the couch beside his hip, then swinging my other leg over until I was straddling him. His eyes widened, pupils dilating as he registered my position, my already hardening cock pressing against his abs through our clothes.
I braced my hands on either side of his head, leaning down until our faces were inches apart. “I should have done this after that kiss. After I realized what it felt like to have you in my arms, to feel you melt for me.”
For a heart-stopping moment, Rhett just stared up at me, his blue-gray eyes searching mine. Then a slow grin spread across his face, and he slid his hands up to my bare waist, the touch making me gasp.
“Finally,” he said, and there was no mistaking the desire in his voice. “What have you been waiting for? That photoshoot almost killed me.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of me? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
I laughed, and something pure and joyful rushed into my chest as I leaned forward and crashed my lips against Rhett’s. This kiss was even hotter than the first. It was hungry and desperate. It was all the wanting I’d been denying since that day in front of Aimee, wrapped up in the most intimate kiss of my life.
I devoured him, cupping his face in my hands, tilting his head back to get a better angle. Rhett responded immediately, his lips parting for me, his tongue meeting mine with equal fervor. The soft groan that escaped his throat vibrated against my lips. Fuck, how had I pretended this wasn’t everything I wanted?
I pulled back and looked down at him, cupping his jaw, running a thumb over his bottom lip. “You’re gorgeous.”
“What made you change your mind?” he asked.
“Aimee.”
“She’s perfect,” he whispered. “But can we go back to kissing?”
Our lips reconnected like magnets, drawn together by some primal force I didn’t want to resist. The feel of his bare skin against mine was intoxicating, the slight rasp of his chest hair against my smoother skin creating delicious friction. I let my hands roam freely now, exploring the planes of his body, the dipsand ridges I’d seen countless times but never allowed myself to touch like this.
“Fuck, Troy. I need you so much, I don’t know what to do with it,” he gasped as I broke the kiss to trail my lips down his jaw, his neck. I bit gently at the sensitive spot where his shoulder met his throat. His hands weren’t idle either, sliding down my back, tracing every muscle, learning me with his fingertips.
I couldn’t stop kissing him. Couldn’t imagine ever wanting to stop. My tongue slid back into his mouth, claiming him, tasting the unique flavor that was Rhett—coffee and something sweeter, something that made me dizzy with need. Our teeth clashed occasionally in our eagerness, neither of us willing to slow down, to be careful. This wasn’t about careful. This was about finally acknowledging the hunger that had been building between us.
